huge difference

I graduated college with $145,000 in student loans. The worst part about it? I was willfully ignorant about the amount I borrowed. It would all be paid off by Future Me, right? Besides, not once during my economics courses was there a discussion about the adverse effects of high student debt. How bad could it […]

When my husband and I got serious about our finances years ago, our food spending was out of control. We were just two people and a baby at the time, yet we were inhaling $1,000 in food each month – and sometimes more. One fix for our food spending woes was simple: We were dining out […]

The last few decades have been very good for individual investors. Vanguard introduced the first publicly available index fund in 1976, and since then index mutual funds and ETFs have exploded in availability. Given what we know about investing – namely that minimizing fees and using index funds both increase your odds of success – […]

What’s inside? Here are the questions answered in today’s reader mailbag, boiled down to summaries of five or fewer words. Click on the number to jump straight down to the question. 1. IRA contribution and rollover questions 2. Saving for next home 3. Using banking to “buy local” 4. Figuring out where to live 5. […]

Once a month (or so), I share a dozen things that have inspired me to greater personal, professional, and financial success in my life. I hope they bring similar success to your life. 1. An icebreaker in the Arctic Ocean From the description: 10 hours video of Arctic ambience with frozen ocean, ice cracking, snow […]

One common strategy for saving money on food that shows up in a lot of frugality books and on many frugality websites is the idea of a “meal prep day,” sometimes simply called “meal prep Sunday” because people often use a Sunday to do it. On that day, the idea is that you’ll do all […]

The fact that we can fly to the other side of the world never ceases to amaze me. After enduring an initial trip to the airport, you can check your bags, board your aircraft, and be on your way. And if you’re lucky, you might even sleep through the entire flight – falling asleep in one […]

What’s inside? Here are the questions answered in today’s reader mailbag, boiled down to summaries of five or fewer words. Click on the number to jump straight down to the question. 1. Where should retirement savings go? 2. Buying furniture on credit 3. Buying a house to flip 4. Bonus issue 5. You Need a […]

As a credit card rewards expert and frequent traveler, I like to stay on top of the changes in the rewards industry. As part of the process, I belong to several online travel forums where people connect to share trip ideas and rewards strategies. Most of the time, these forums are fun. But sometimes, they […]